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Fabric store reopens in mall

Six-year-old Max Warren, left, struggles to carry a large bolt of fleece while his mother, Heather, waits her turn Friday at the cutting table in the new Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft store in Mesa Mall. Younger brother, Liam, 4, and sister, Mary, 8 months, also wait in line. The store reopened this week in the Herberger’s wing, after closing in another section of the mall in August 2010. The renovated store added more than 3,000 square feet of space in the former mall movie theater.

A second-time around appears to be working like a charm for Grand Junction’s Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft store after its reopening earlier this week in Mesa Mall.

Hundreds of customers appeared dazed and smiled broadly, wandering the aisles that are packed with fabric, notions and crafts.

“It’s a great store,” Dolores Zamora said, exiting after buying a pair of slippers that resembled wolf feet. “Everyone’s been really friendly.”

Zamora said she enjoyed shopping at the former Jo-Ann Fabric store, but said she enjoyed this experience even more.

Ariel Fenske was shopping there with her children Friday.

“I thought it was just fabric. I didn’t really realize they had so many crafts,” she said, a point that caught the eye of her 5-year-old daughter. Her other daughter and mother-in-law were waiting in line to buy fabric to make curtains.

“It’s a great price,” she said of the fabric they bought, priced at $8.99 a yard.

Until Aug. 2010, Jo-Ann Fabrics had been located in the mall’s southwest section, where Boot Barn is now.

The fabric retailer renovated the mall’s former movie theater, Colorado West Cinema 4, to accommodate the 14,528-square-foot space. That meant leveling the former theater’s sloping floors and filling it in with concrete. The move also added more than 3,000 square feet of space.

The renovated retail space, sandwiched between Herberger’s and the mall’s food court, is a far cry from its former inhabitants, Fenske said. After the theater moved out, the space was filled with a Halloween store and later Smart Buys Las Vegas, a furniture store.

“This is, like, a classy upgrade,” Fenske said.

Customers were upset when Jo-Ann Fabric first left the mall, Mesa Mall spokeswoman Jammie McCloud said.

“They were still doing really great things when they were here,” she said. “People are very happy to see them return. We have been getting a ton of calls every day asking for details.”

Having Jo-Ann Fabric reopen draws in another kind of shopper to the mall who otherwise might not shop there, McCloud said.

The new store is substantially larger than its previous space and there’s more room for merchandise.

Its proximity to the food court may also boost sales there, McCloud said.